Colorado
17-15,8-12Pac-12
Washington
16-16,8-12Pac-12
Buffs Knock Off Washington In Pac-12 Tourney Opener
March 08, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — Colorado's Julian Hammond III scored a career-high 21 points and the Buffaloes used a key 7-0 run in the final minute Wednesday to take a 74-68 win over Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament at T-Mobile Arena.
Tad Boyle's ninth-seeded Buffs, who lost twice to the No. 8 Huskies in the regular season, improved to 17-15 and will face No. 1 seed UCLA in Thursday's 1 p.m. (MT) quarterfinal.
Colorado led from the outset, building a 14-point lead in the first half before taking an eight-point cushion, 28-20, into intermission. But the Huskies slowly chipped away the lead and finally went ahead at the midway point of the second half.
The two teams then traded the lead three more times and with 1:26 to play, the Huskies tied the game at 66-66.
But CU then put together a decisive 7-0 run in the final minute. Luke O'Brien gave the Buffs the lead for good with a 3-pointer, Hammond added a floater from the lane and Tristan da Silva hit two clinching free throws with 18 seconds remaining to give the Buffs a 73-66 lead.
Hammond, starting again in place of KJ Simpson (out with illness), had three rebounds, two assists and a steal to go with his 21 points. Da Silva added 18 points and O'Brien notched his second career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Keion Brooks led Washington with 16 points.
CU's defense was outstanding in the first half, holding UW to 27 percent shooting (7-for-26), including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc. While the Huskies did come back to shoot 17-for-30 after intermission, Colorado had just enough offense to come away with the win and the Buffs did come up with two key defensive stops in the final minute.
Colorado shot 45.5 percent for the game (30-for-66).
But the decisive difference came on the boards, where the Buffs had a 39-30 rebound edge. That included 15 offensive rebounds for 21 second-chance points.
"That was a gutsy win by our guys," Boyle said. "I thought we played with great resolve down the stretch, great toughness. We knew they were going to probably make a run at some point, but these guys bowed their backs. They made plays when they had to make plays. It's survive and advance in March. Give Washington credit for their fight, but our guys fought too and I'm really proud of 'em."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led by as much as 14 in the first half and still held an eight-point edge at the break, 28-20. But the Huskies hit two quick 3-pointers to open the second half and make it a close game the rest of the way.
CU managed to hold onto the lead for 10 minutes as da Silva, O'Brien and Hammond each had big buckets to answer UW scores.
"I'm just prepared every day," said Hammond, who has led the Buffs to three victories in his three starts in place of Simpson. " I feel ready to go when I get the opportunity. It's a bigger role, so I know I'm going to have to do more than what I usually do. But I don't feel like it's any extra pressure or anything. I'm just going out there and playing, having fun, and doing
what I can do."
But the Huskies finally took their first lead of the game with 9:44 to play, setting up a see-saw stretch that saw the lead change three more times.
Colorado finally went back up by four on buckets from Ethan Wright and Nique Clifford, then extended the edge to five with five minutes to play on a long 3-pointer and layup from Hammond and a Lawson Lovering free throw.
"Everybody has their part in the victory," da Silva said of CU's contribution from multiple players down the stretch. "I feel like it's every game everybody contributes to winning, but especially with those key plays you kind of get more of that feeling."
Washington didn't go away quietly. The Huskies used five straight points from Cole Bajema to tie the game at 66-66 with 1:26 to play.
But Colorado needed just one possession to regain the lead, this time for good. Da Silva drove underneath, then found O'Brien open at the top of the arc and the junior drained a long 3-pointer to give CU a 69-66 lead with just under a minute to play.
O'Brien has been outstanding since stepping into the starting role six games ago. He has had two double-doubles in that stretch and has led the team in rebounding in five of Colorado's last seven games.
"Luke's become a really integral part of this team and this rotation, especially with the injuries that we've had," Boyle said. "His energy, his rebounding, his offensive rebounding … I think it's a little bit contagious because Luke brings it and I think his teammates appreciate him for that."
After O'Brien's 3-pointer, Nique Clifford then came up with a big steal on the defensive end. Seconds later, Hammond hit a floater from the lane to give Colorado a 71-66 lead with 26 ticks on the clock.
Da Silva then capped a 7-0 Colorado run by grabbing a defensive rebound off a UW miss and hitting two free throws with 18 seconds left to give the Buffs a 73-66 lead.
Colorado then held on in the final seconds for the win.
"Now we're faced with playing UCLA, who is one of the top teams in the country," Boyle said. "We know what they're all about. We've battled them. We've come up short, just like we had battled Washington and come up short. But UCLA's a different animal. They're the best team in our league. We have to be ready to rock and roll tomorrow."
The Buffs used some stellar first-half defense and opportunistic offense to take a 28-20 lead over the Huskies at intermission.
Colorado led from the outset, getting a Tristan da Silva 3-pointer to open the game and steadily building its cushion. The Buffs pushed their cushion to 26-12 late in the half, thanks in part to four points from da Silva and five from Julian Hammond III over a three-minute stretch.
Defensively, Colorado produced 10 consecutive empty UW possessions that helped the Buffs build their big lead.
The Huskies did manage to close the gap in the final minutes of the half with back-to-back buckets, but UW shot just 27 percent in the first half (7-for-26), including 1-for-10 from 3-point range.
The Buffs, meanwhile, found enough holes in the UW zone to collect 12 field goals. Da Silva had nine points in the first half and Hammond and Luke O'Brien each added six. O'Brien and Nique Clifford also had five rebounds apiece, helping Colorado to a 25-17 edge on the boards and 10 second-chance points.
TURNING POINT: This one wasn't decided until the final minute, when Colorado used a decisive 7-0 run to put the game away.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs keep alive their hopes of collecting four straight wins in four nights and earning an automatic NCAA Tournament berth. They also guaranteed themselves of at least a .500 finish for the year.
KEY STATISTICS: The decisive difference came on the boards, where the Buffs had a 39-30 rebound edge that included 15 offensive rebounds for 21 second-chance points … CU's defense was outstanding in the first half, holding UW to 27 percent shooting (7-for-26), including 1-for-10 from beyond the arc … Colorado shot 45.5 percent for the game (30-for-66) … CU also finished with just 10 turnovers.
NEXT UP: Colorado will face No. 1 seed UCLA in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal game Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
